It’s officially summer, and another TV season has come and gone. While viewers take a break and wait for new shows this fall, the networks (and their advertisers) will continue to weigh which platforms are most effective at promoting and gathering audiences for September’s new entries.

Marketers know that one of the places fans of new and returning shows engage with their favorite programs is on social media. Instead of looking at just likes and follows, there is much more value in keeping an eye on social engagers – those who are retweeting, photo posting, commenting, etc. Engagers represent the best proxy for an actual TV viewer, and are much more likely to be receptive to a brand – if it’s the right match for that show’s audience.

The upfront deals are mostly finalized, and as advertisers gauge their success with the fall’s new offerings, here are some things to keep in mind:

1. More engaged fans doesn’t necessarily mean higher ratings (and vice versa)

An Affinity Answers analysis of this season’s live + same day average 18-49 ratings and the number of engaged fans for all shows returning for 2016-17 shows that there is a 27% correlation between ratings and engaged fans across all five broadcast networks. In other words, there’s only a 1 in 4 chance that ratings and engaged fans are both high or both low.

This correlation increases when looking at any individual network, but the overall trend highlights that success on TV does not necessarily translate to large numbers of engaged fans – and that’s okay. Every TV show has a distinct engagement DNA, and not all fan bases are created equally.

2. Correlation between engaged fans and high ratings is about content, not numbers

FOX has a 93% correlation between its shows engaged fans and 18-49 ratings, but a closer look at the top three in both categories – Empire, The Simpsons and Family Guy – reveals that each has content that are share- or hashtag-worthy. The content strategists have “simply” found the best ways to bridge the television and social audiences.

Marketers should be on the lookout for the shows that find the most success on social media. This can be done by identifying which pieces of content inspire which behaviors and how much. Fans of shows that know how to engage will undoubtedly bring the same enthusiasm to your brand.

3. Social engagement gets better with age

Unlike the usual trend where a show’s ratings decline as the number of seasons increases, engagement on social only increases with time. On average, a show with 10+ seasons under its belt has over twice as many engaged fans as a show with as much as four seasons to its name.

When looking for the right target audience, marketers should consider these veteran programs that still have the ability to capture the attention of online and offline audiences. Social has the ability to amplify the impact of great content, and your brand could be introduced to previously undiscovered audiences.

How can your brand choose the best TV show – or other engaged audiences? Contact us to find out how you can unlock your most qualified audiences.